Gbaving-dock



UNiTEna sTAwENTOFFICEf WM. A. KENRICK AND GEO. H. WHITCHER, or BosioN,*MASSACHUSETTS .if 1

GRAvING-nocx.

Specification of Letters vPatentiNo. Y26,501, dated December220,` 185,9531 l l Y J To all 'it may concern:

Beit 4k "own that we, WILLIAM JLKEN- RICK andGEoRGE WHITGHER, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a newand useful Graving-Dock, and do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1, denotes a top view of it, and Fig. 2, a central and longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3, is another longitudinal section of it taken through one of theV pipes or conduits of the floating dock and its stationary receiving basin ortank. Fig. 4, is a horizontal section, and Fig. 5, a front elevation of it.

In carrying out our invention, weemploy a oating dock or vessel A, the outer end of which is open and furnished with a miter sill, as, and entrance gates, .7) o

The floating vessel or dock, we place within a slip or opening formed by a receiving basin or tank B, surrounding the dock on its two sides and head, the topsurface or covering-of the tank constituting a wharf for landing materials or for such other purposes as may be desirable. The larger the horizontal sectional area of the tank, with respect to that of the` dock the bet-ter it will be for discharge of water from the dook. a

The interiors of the dock and tank may be connected by one or more `flexible tubes furnished with gates the tubes'beino so applied as to allow the dock to rise and its slip or opening. The mode we prefer for making such connection is shown in the drawings, wherein c, is a tube attached to and opening through the head of the dock and also attached to and made to open through a long vertical gate or slide, d, eX- tending a considerable distance below and covering a long opening e, made vertically in the inner wall of the head of the tank as shown in Figs. 3, and 4. Each gate, b, may be connected to the dock head by metallic staples, f, It should be observed that the extenslon of the slide, d, below as well as above the opening, c, should be such, `that such opening shall always be covered bythe slide whatever may be the elevation ofthe dock, the slide or gate being movable with and moved by the dock. Furthermore, to each of the conduits ortubes, c, a gate or valve, g, is applied so as to enable the pasand where the water is ofsuicientfdept fall in4 the tank. It is easy to see, that if thehoriruptedor:opened.atjpleasurel 1, The receiving basin hould be cons ructed sage through the `ftube` to' be either-lin with one or inoredischargingfopenings, 71, each of which should have aclosinggatdbli,a. N the saine being,f arranged onnthe outer ends .35, of the basin as shc` `w"nwin3t-hedrawingsil 1; .i

In order that the basingor` tank pier, 1tI may be termed, may" operatewithltheelel vating dock in "the manner to behereinafterg described, it shouldl be erected" in `tide 3wa ry? enable the largestlvessel the dockn calculated to receive,t beilatdiiito ita` a high water and While the dockfinay be rest-` i ing on the bottom of the11slip`.` .l Through the deck of he lreceivingzltank B, one or more air holes,`g`m should be made. f In the process of preparing the dock`lfor y the reception of a ship ornavigable vessel,` we close the gates of the dockand tankfcon" necting pipes `and `.open the3.dischargingl gates ofthe tank,it being understood :that y Q3 this should be done prior to `thelfallingof the tide or while it maybe falling` At low 1 tide, the great gates of the frontend ofthe ,i dock should be opened, and the outer valves i or gates of the tank should be closed--after` which as the tide rises, it will `flow `freely 1 into the dock, but will not into` the tank, they; dock remaining inthe meantimeonl thebot` l tom of its slip or. pier.iopeningg` Atfhigh i l 1 1 water, the ship should belioated into `the j dock and the great gatesfb, byshoultllbe` closed .immediately afterward. u This having been done, the gates Iof the `.connecting,pipes of the tank and dock shouldbeopened` or". i. raised so as toallow the`water withinw the dock to be discharged into thegtank, into which it will flow wuntilg the level of ,l the water in the two isfthe same.; Int-he meantime, the `pressure lof thelwater `outside of the tank and dock, will causethelatter toml float and riseupward, and` thereby `facilitate 10.0.1 the discharge of water fromi the dockwinto zontal sectional area of the interior "of the, h tank be large enough to` allow thewupper"1 l surface of the bottoni ofthe dock toyrise "toi a little above the level of the top` surface `of the water that mayhave been sodischargedQ into the tank, the interioraofg the dockfwill` have been freedfromfwateri Havin `di`s-.i charged the water from the fdock,\we s Ould` close the gates of the cominunication\pipes,` and open `the discharging gates "of thetankg;

During fall of the tide, the vvater in the tank Will flow out of it, and When the tide has fallen to its lovvest extent, the" said discharging gates should be closed.

In the above manner, and Without thenccessity of employing pumps or engines to free the dock from Water, We can dock a ship and relieve the dock from Water, preparatory to graving, coppering or examining the vessels hull'or making any repairs thereon. The process of taking her out of dock at high Water, is simply to open all the gates or' discharge and connection passages or openings so as to allow Water to flow from theetank into the dock. This Will not only cause the ship to float in the dock, but the dock to sink to the bottom of the slip. As soon as the Water in the dock may have attained the level of the tide Water outside of it, the great gates yof the dock may be opened and the ship be oated out of the dock.

We claim as our inventioneasi 1. The oating dock, A, and the stati0nary receiving basin or tank, B, in combination and as furnished not only with one or more connection pipes and` gates for discharge of Water from the dock into the tank or vice versa, but With one or more passages and gates arranged in the tank so as to either discharge Water therefrom vinto the sea or admit it to pass from the sea into the tank, all substantially in manner and for the purpose as specified.

2. And We also claim the elevating slide, d, in combination with a connection pipe of the dock and a deep opening, e, made in the tank, the said slide being arranged therewith and connected with the dock substantially as specified.

WV. A. KENRICK. G. H. VHITCHER.

Vitnesses:

R. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr. 

